Beware of The Dark
by Sizzia
Summary: Elena thought she would return to her normal life after the car crash as school was coming closer and closer, but she was wrong. Normal is a concept that doesn't really exist in Mystic Falls. She meets him two weeks before school at a party that turns her life upside down with his sinful smirks, cocky attitude and answers.
1. Chapter 1

_This will be a one-shot, unless people really want me to continue this which is why I will make this a M-rating and keep it at that and not change the status to complete just yet._

_Just wanted to thank my awesome friend and beta, MrsBates93 for helping me to go through this chapter and boosting my self confidence to post this._

_Enjoy and hope you like this little spin-off. I give a cookie for every review! :)_

_/Rose_

* * *

"Elena, Caroline! Are you coming?" Bonnie shouted impatiently, as both girls who were upstairs in the bathroom could practically hear their friend stamping her feet in the hallway of Elena's home.

"Give us just one more minute, Bonnie!" Caroline shouted back, stopping herself from laughing as she worked through the last, most stubborn chocolate lock of hair on her friend's head.

"You said that five minutes ago!"

Caroline rolled her eyes, making Elena giggle as she saw her reflection in the mirror.

"Maybe we need to hurry up," the brunette sitting before the mirror added, twirling her finger around her bottle of perfume, Diesel – fuel for life. She really loved that fragrance, she thought absently.

"Bonnie can wait for one more minute, Elena. You need to look perfect tonight. It's your night. The night to get out there and live life!" Caroline gave Elena that knowing look to not argue with her.

Elena gave her a smile through the mirror, letting her friend work her magic on her. Caroline had insisted putting make-up on her, perfectly aligning the black eyeliner with small glittering emerald stones to match her brown eyes with the golden mask she was going to wear.

There was a masquerade ball at the Lockwood mansion which was just two weeks before school started again. It had taken Caroline forever to convince her to go, as Elena didn't feel like going to a stupid party, that would end up making her feel worse then she already did. But she gave up after the constant buzzing of texts, calls and meetings with Caroline whose priority was getting Elena to the party. Her argument being that Elena needed it.

It had only been a few months after the accident and both Elena and Jeremy had been stuck in a dark pit which Elena tried to fight through every day while Jeremy seemed content digging himself deeper into it. Maybe tonight would help her get back on track, loosen up, and see a glimpse of the girl she used to be before she had lost her parents. Bonnie was helping, by being there for her like the rock she was while Caroline had been helping her by cheering her up whenever they talked or taking her out shopping. Both Jenna and Jeremy were out for the evening so she didn't have to worry about them.

"There we go, we are officially done!" the blonde exclaimed happily, patting Elena on the shoulder. Elena responded with a small smile before sighing heavily.

Caroline's expression changed as a worried look crossed her face and she bit her lip, "Are you ready for this? I know I've been pushy but if you really don't want to-"

"No, you're right. It's time to say hello to the world again," Elena said with more confidence than she felt she had at that moment.

This made Caroline burst out into a huge smile, showing her sparkling white teeth as she clasped her hands together.

Elena just wished Matt wouldn't be there, but being Tyler's friend she guessed he would be. On top of everything else she would have to deal with the puppy eyes from her former boyfriend. She did deserve it though, leading him on when she had totally different intentions. She had felt at peace after the bonfire, talking with Bonnie on the phone. She couldn't exactly recall why, but it must have been something, because when her parents had picked her up, she had felt unexplainable happiness, like she knew what she wanted out of her life and that Matt was not a part of it, which she had finally come to terms with. All of these opportunities that had opened up for her, but she had never had any time to reflect on them before that night because it became a living nightmare which she had to relive night after night.

"What the hell are you two doing up there?!" Bonnie shouted, making both girls hurry out of the bathroom to join their friend.

"Sorry Bonnie," Elena said apologetically.

"Don't be-" Bonnie started but her eyes widened as she stared in awe at her best friend, "-wow, that dress. You look gorgeous!"

"Thanks to Caroline, the eternal make-up artist of wonders," Elena sang, making her friend blush.

Her dress, the glittering golden mask, and the accessories made her look and feel better than she had in the last couple of months. The dark satin strapless blue dress that stopped right above her knees, hugged her body like a glove. She wore golden rose petal earrings along with a golden necklace with rose petals hanging in the middle. Caroline had styled her hair so it had that glamorous Hollywood curly vibe.

"This is going to be a fantastic night, I can feel it. It's like _anything-c__ould__-happen_ tonight!" Caroline squealed happily as they got into the car and drove off towards the Lockwood mansion. Elena prayed that she was right.

As they drove up the gravel path to the mansion, the loud noise of music vibrated through the body of the car into the girl's ears and Elena let herself be taken away by the music as they got out of the car and walked towards the grand house. It didn't have the same effect as it had before, but she could fool herself for one night, before returning to her routine of saying, _"I'm fine."_ until people would no longer care about her anguish. The mask would help with it, she thought as she let it cover half of her face.

There were people everywhere, most of them were dancing and drinking both inside and outside the house by the sound of it. The door to the mansion was open and almost all of the windows were letting light out. It was a dark night, with clouds hovering above the small town.

She checked to see if she still had her phone with her, realizing she must have left it in the vehicle. "I forgot my phone in the car. I'll be back soon!" Elena shouted to her friends, seeing that they had already reached the porch of the mansion. They nodded, and Caroline yelled, "You better be inside soon or I will come after you."

They had parked behind a tree, and the music had lowered down a bit. She looked for the car keys, and after fumbling in her small purse, she couldn't find them. Letting out an annoyed sigh, she scanned the inside of the car to see if they were there. They weren't, but she did see her phone, lying tauntingly on the passenger seat. Elena groaned, leaning her forehead against the passenger door.

"You know, looking like that, you're an invitation for trouble." The brunette jumped from the voice she didn't recognize, turning around fast to face a man, her breath hitched in her throat. She had to fight to keep her composure, seeing the tall man - probably the most handsome guy she had ever seen – he was visibly athletic by how the clothes fit his body, and dressed in a leather jacket, accompanied by a dark blue V-neck t-shirt, and pair of black jeans. He had ruffled raven hair, skin like snow and the most sinful smirk she had ever seen even with his hands jammed into the pockets of his slacks. She didn't recognize him, although there was something familiar about him, but he definitely hadn't been invited to this party. He looked older than a high school student.

Elena stammered for a moment, feeling her heart beating faster than normal, before letting out a little sigh. "I forgot my keys and I need my phone," she said, gesturing towards the car, seeing how his grin intensified and he took a step closer towards her, she glanced at his eyes, and almost wished that she hadn't. They were a sky blue, sparkling in the darkness of the night, and she found herself staring at him, feeling the wind giving her static chills as it caressed her neck while she gazed at him.

"Sounds like you have a problem," he mused.

She allowed herself to chuckle, rubbing her forearms nervously; all the music seemed to have quietened down completely, leaving her alone with the stranger.

She really ought to get back to Caroline before she started to worry.

"Well, it's not the end of the world." The brunette looked at him, feeling a soft vibration racing through her upper body making her feel warm all over, while her heart pounded strongly against her chest, as she watched him tilt his head to the side as if he too was studying her.

"Life will find other ways to screw you over. Trust me." The man grinned.

"Are you always this cynical?"

"Let's just say, I have a few reasons to be," he said as he pouted playfully before he winked at her. He seemed to have an ability to make her smile grow wider, and not feel tense like she did with everyone else even when he spoke like life itself had just been terrible to him.

"Do you have nothing that you care about?" she asked, feeling brave enough to question a stranger about his life. He raised an eyebrow at her, before narrowing his eyes somewhat cautiously, "You're a curious little thing aren't you?"

Her smile disappeared and she timidly brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, glad that she still wore a mask to hide the rest of her face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-" she trailed off, frowning, not knowing what else to say.

"You need to learn to take a joke. Wouldn't want to ruin that forehead by crowding it with too many worry lines just yet. A girl your age should smile more."

Elena gulped, and noticed that the man had taken another step towards her.

"And I can safely say your smile is very nice to look at." Her heart was speeding up again, and the strange thing was that he seemed to have picked up on it, as his eyebrows furrowed together pensively, gazing at her neck for a moment before looking at her again.

"Am I supposed to say thanks for your supposed flattery?" Elena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm Damon," he introduced himself, successfully avoiding answering her question.

The brunette shot him a look of suspicion laced with curiosity, his smile somewhat melting away the wall she had built. "I'm Elena," she said slowly.

He twitched his lip as she introduced herself, his eyes seemed to be wavering but he stopped, which made Elena more sceptical.

"Not to be rude or anything, but it's kinda creepy you walking up to me here. Being alone with a girl, at a party you must be gate crashing."

Damon smirked in a delicious way. "You're one to talk. Didn't mommy ever warn you about talking to strangers?" It was like a blow to her heart, when he had meant it as a joke, but it had brought her back to reality. She realized how utterly stupid she was for thinking that she could...spend a night not having guilt and sorrow eat her up from the inside.

"No I guess she didn't, she died before she had the time to warn me!" She snapped back, before clasping a hand over her mouth, surprised by her own confession and the way she had spoken to him. It wasn't like her at all.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry," she spluttered but he shook his head. "Don't be. It was a dick move." Damon cut her off before tightening his jaw, as he leaned against the car, it was obvious how tense Elena had become from how close she was to him. It prickled her skin, knowing that if she just moved her hand it would be on top of his. And she didn't know him, but it felt like her body really wanted to get to know him better.

"So, why are you here tonight Elena?" Damon asked after a few minutes of mutual silence. The way he pronounced her name, made her go weak at the knees. His voice was dark, velvety and had a hint of danger in it.

She looked at him, and exhaled deeply. "I'm here trying to live my life to the full." Why was it so easy to talk to him? When it was so hard to speak to her friends or even her aunt? It seemed the words just poured out of her and her body was relaxed and unguarded. He had this atmosphere around him that seemed to ignite her nerves but calm the rational part of her at the same time.

"How is that working out?" he asked. She was taken aback by his question, as she was already prepared for the, _"I'm so sorry for your loss. How are you doing?"_ She was happy that he didn't ask the same stupid questions as everyone else.

"Horrible. If anyone else asks me how I'm doing I might as well just bang my head against a brick wall."

He smirked at that, "Being the perfect gentleman, I can say that that would be a shame." Again that playful wink made her heart skip a beat.

"And why are you here, Mr. Tall, dark and handsome? This doesn't seem to be your type of scene." She asked, surprised by herself for being flirtatious, she wasn't ready for it but here she was, doing it in the heat of the moment.

"I'm not that tall." He teased. It took a few seconds seeing how his expression changed quickly before he opened his mouth, lifting one of his eyebrows before he answered, his voice dropping an octave.

"It wouldn't be any fun if I spoil the ending, now would it?"

"Try me," she challenged with a heartfelt grin.

He smirked at her, his eyes capturing hers, not lowering his gaze from hers which made her tense as she couldn't look away either.

"Be careful with what you wish for," he whispered quietly, dipping his gaze to her neck again.

"Should I be scared?" Elena teased.

"Absolutely terrified," he stated with a mischievous glint in his crystal orbs.

She was extremely thankful that she was wearing a mask at this point as her cheeks felt hot, and she knew she was blushing. It was refreshing being with someone who didn't treat her like some fragile porcelain doll from China, and who didn't look at her with only sadness in their eyes, trying to sympathize with her. Sure her friends were great but they were much more careful with what they said around her now.

"Nice evasion of the question," Elena giggled, feeling unexplainably content with how her evening had turned out.

"What if I told you, that I'm a mysterious vampire on a mission?" He said playfully, making her roll her eyes.

"Then I would have to say you're crazy." He grinned at her response, baring his white teeth which made her swoon. He was gorgeous when he smiled, and she had a feeling he didn't do it that much.

"Does your spider sense tell you that?"

"My spider sense is never wrong," Elena half-heartedly countered.

"So, why are you still here then? Not that I mind the company," he joked, putting his hands up in mock defense, making her giggle softly before answering honestly, "I don't know. To avoid my ex, and I'm not really feeling all that cheerful being around people that will look at me with pity in their eyes."

"Your ex?" Damon asked, with a raised eyebrow, letting his lips curl upwards into a knowing smirk. Why did it feel like he knew more than he was saying? Elena continued, telling herself it was just paranoia.

"We wanted different things, and it hadn't been easy for a while, and when...my parents died… I couldn't keep lying to myself or keep dragging him along. It's wasn't fair on either of us," Elena finished solemnly, hugging her chest, as she kicked at a leaf with her foot pretending it was more interesting than what she had just said. It was eerie how she had opened up to him so easily, like she had knew him for a very long time, but there was something about him, she couldn't explain what which made it very easy.

Damon smiled at her intently making heat crawl all the way from her throat up to her cheeks. It felt like it was melting the mask away.

"You will get what you are looking for. It will sneak up on you when you least expect it."

"Who says I'm looking for anything?"

His eyes darted upwards, interlocking with hers. Curious brown against crystal blue. It was like he knew all of her secret desires. "We are all looking for something," he replied, but she had a feeling he was keeping something back.

"What? A mysterious stranger that has all the answers?" She couldn't keep herself from smiling. He tilted his head downwards, and let out a little chuckle before gazing up at her face again. She had a sudden wave of Dejá vu, she couldn't explain it but she was starting to feel like she had done this before.

"Some things don't change," he muttered to himself before responding to her, "I've been around long enough to learn a few things."

"So, Damon, what are you looking for?" she asked, as she switched her eyes to look down at the ground.

"I've already told you. I'm a mysterious vampire on a mission," he said, wiggling his eyebrows devilishly.

"And what's the real answer?" She said, looking at him, feeling like time was lost around her. She couldn't hear the music anymore, or the people, like everything around her had vanished, and she was in this little bubble.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," he answered with a flirtatious pout. She had a feeling she was intruding on something and didn't want to push it.

Black clouds thrashed and throbbed, as white sparks of lightening illuminated the sky accompanied by loud, angry growls of thunder. In such a short time, the chaos of a storm had crept up on them. Barely an hour ago it had been miles away, yet now, it almost seemed like it was directly above Tyler's house, hovering above their heads, and Elena felt another shiver make its way up her spine. Then the first droplets of rain started to fall. It reminded her of what she had lost and Damon seemed to know what was on her mind.

"It won't stay like this forever. The pain will fade," Damon said, making Elena stare at him, before nodding solemnly. "It's just...hard to adjust to. I still wake up every morning, expecting everything to be just a bad dream but then I..." she stopped before cracking her face into a smile. "I shouldn't bore you with this." She hadn't known him for more than five minutes and he could read her as easily as a book.

"You wake up and you put on a facade to get you through the day," he finished her sentence for her, his gaze still fixated on her face. "You say that you are fine to everyone so that they will stop treating you differently."

"_How does he do that?"_ she wondered.

Damon stepped away from the car and was in front of her, making her breathe faster, letting him touch her face with his hands, and it felt like electricity clashing with water. Her nerves became a bundle of fire from his mere touch, and she was surprised by how easily she had reacted to him. It was...unnerving. He took off the mask with ease, revealing her face to him.

"You're not supposed to do that," she whispered quietly, as he held her golden mask in his hands.

"Rules are meant to be broken," he answered, caressing the plastic material with his fingers. "Life is meant to be lived and risks are meant to be taken. Otherwise what is the point?"

"Life isn't that simple," she argued.

"You can make it simple. Wouldn't you want to do whatever you want without thinking about the consequences for once? To give in to your urges?"

Another booming noise echoed around them along with lightning as the rain fell faster, tickling her cheeks.

She knitted her brows together, holding her arms closer to her chest as the chill from the icy water was making her cold. She was only wearing her dress, and it wasn't doing much to keep her warm.

"Not caring about the consequences, and doing whatever you want, could hurt the ones closest to you, and the guilt of your actions would catch up to you."

"You worry too much on the negativity of things."

"I have to; I don't want to hurt my friends or my family." He took a step closer, and Elena pressed her back against the car before he invaded her personal space, drugging her shivering body with his dominant presence. "You are so different. Exactly the same but so different," he whispered, making her feel so confused. "What are you talking about?"

Damon smiled then, taking one of her locks, twirling it in his hand, and she let him, feeling helpless and she was unable to push him away. He was close to her now, and with hooded eyes she could see his Adam's apple move and his jaw clench. Rain was pouring down on both of them, making her hair stick to her skin like molten chocolate. Her skin glistened in the darkness but she wasn't cold anymore.

"It was nice meeting you, Elena." He whispered, taking a few steps back, leaving her in a confused state and feeling abandoned all of sudden. She didn't want him to leave, because then she would have to return to her life, and she really couldn't cope with that right now. Just then the brave part inside her sprung to life and she hurried after him, grabbing his arm, which made him turn around with a surprised look on his face. His face was damp with rain which made him look utterly delicious.

"Please don't go." She pleaded quietly, hoping she didn't sound desperate.

"You should be afraid of me," he responded, making her breath catch in her throat. "I'm not," she said, standing close to him again, wanting to indulge in the sparks her body was firing in every direction before returning to her everyday monotonous life where she was battling the will to live.

He cupped her cheeks, leaning close to her, inches away with only rain being the single obstacle between them. It felt like her skin exploded at the contact, and she placed her hands on top of his, feeling how rough his knuckles were, and how big his ring was that he wore. She didn't ponder about it though as her attention was elsewhere.

His eyes scanned hers and she responded with determination of an unspoken agreement that she wanted more.

Remembering Caroline's words,_ that anything c__ould__ happen_ tonight, and she wanted it now.

Elena realized quickly she had nothing to blame this crazy spur of rebellion on. She was neither drunk nor in a state where she could have been taken advantage of. She had gone after him, and it scared her being brave like this, but she was also extremely happy that she had. At that moment she didn't feel guilty, sad or disconnected from the world. She felt connected with it, and with tentative hands, she placed her arms around his neck, before caressing his back, enjoying the feel of leather against her palms.

He smirked in a self-satisfying way that should annoy her, but it didn't at that moment, before leaning in and placing his lips onto hers and she let him. Elena Gilbert who had just come out of a relationship and would never kiss a random guy let Damon kiss her and it connected all of her nerves in her body in a humongous rapture of dizziness accompanied with tingling sparks that urged her forward. Her head was spinning, and her blood was boiling in her veins, consuming her body, incinerating any rational thought.

His hands snaked around her waist, and drew her closer so their bodies were touching. She pulled away to allow herself to breathe before smiling against his lips, letting out a very girly giggle before he captured her lips again with a grin of his own. Underneath her body felt like new, sparkling with tender goosebumps, she felt happy. Doing something that was not in her nature was very freeing.

A furious roar echoed through the wind, making the rain pour and lightning caress the clouds, crashing above them. He broke away this time, but he still held her, which she didn't mind. "I can't believe I just did that," Elena said with a smile dancing at the corners of her mouth. "I don't usually kiss guys I've just met."

"Well, I'm quite irresistible." Damon smirked, tilting his head, making her let out a little scoff, "You're very arrogant, aren't you?"

"Mhmmmm. It's part of my charm," he drawled quietly, his voice next to her ear, vibrating through her entire body, making her blood pulsate and rush to her heart. "How did it make you feel, doing something you are not supposed to do?" He taunted with mirth, bringing her closer towards his grasp, which resulted in her putting her hands on his chest.

She looked into his blue eyes, her smile growing wider, "liberating." His eyes widened with excitement at her response.

"See? There's nothing wrong with breaking the rules."

He gripped her waist, and it brought a chill trailing down her spine, and turned her around so she had her back against his chest. She wondered for a moment if he liked this as much as she did, she didn't feel his heart beating. One of his hands gripped her wrist, while the other caressed the other bare arm.

His breath teased her wet skin, and he leaned closer into the crook of her neck, the rain barely registering. "Goodnight, Elena," he whispered, and before she could blink he was gone.

Elena looked around, suddenly freezing and shaking, not able to breathe properly. She started to walk up to the house, her legs oddly numb and shaking. Her hand went on its own accord to her lips, tracing the remembrance, smiling to herself that traces of him weren't completely gone from her mind just yet. It had been worth it, and yet he would remain a stranger. She wondered who he was, how he had made himself disappear that quickly and how he had got under her skin faster than anyone she knew, and it felt on some level like he did know her, as it was easy for him to tell what she was thinking.

It excited and terrified her at the same time, but somehow she at least knew that she shouldn't be afraid of him. After all, nothing bad happens in Mystic Falls right?

* * *

_**Hope you liked it! The ending is open and meant to be like that unless you want me to delve deeper into this. I also know that Damon is very much in love with Katherine still at this point but a little kissing never hurt anyone.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you very much for the response for the last chapter. So I need to bake 13 cookies! I'm sorry that I didn't respond to any reviews but since they pretty much said the same thing I thought maybe you would like another update instead and therefor show my response.**

**I'm really happy you like it and well if you continue to review it, I will continue to update it. I have some plans for this story and with enough encouragement we are looking at a 5 chapter story.**

**I do want to thank my beta _MrsBates93_ for being pure awesome and her little comments about this chapter that did encourage me to post this.**

**Anyway here is chapter two, hope you enjoy as Damon makes a turn that Elena will not expect. A cookie for each review!**

* * *

One week before school began, was the one week before her life had to start again. Part of her wanted it to, and yet another part of her dreaded the acceptance of living a normal life. She sighed, Caroline or even Bonnie could not understand. Well, sure they understand up until the point they wanted her to move on with her life. They would never say that to her, but Elena could tell from the way they looked at her that they didn't want her to waste her teenage years by mourning it all away. While it was a loving thought from her friends, it angered her. But she could not talk to anyone about it, not them, not to Jeremy who seemed to need to get high just to get through the day, and Elena hadn't had the fight in her to stop him and that had to change as well.

So she went to the one place, she could vent her thoughts; where she could let all of her emotions leave her body for a short while like a blood sucking parasite. The grass felt damp under her shoes, the fog clouding the air giving her the sense of being sucked into another world. The lamps along the path flickered in the dim foggy light as the last rays of sunshine wanted to pass beyond the horizon, as she gazed over the very familiar view of tombstones, which were roughly aligned across the grounds of the cemetery. Some were old, branded by nature and the new ones, where she was headed, gleamed on the surface, the light gently caressing the carvings of the stone.

Elena readjusted the scarf she was wearing, and hugged the book under the leather jacket close to her as her body stopped moving, arriving at her destination, looking at the tombstones, that taunted her eyes. Heat built up behind her eyes, hot tears threatening to slide past her eyelids as she tensed, agonizing herself with looking over the names again and again, wishing that the next time she looked it would not be her parent's names carved into the two pieces of stone. But the disappointment proved to be the same every time.

"I miss you so much," she whispered, her voice stuck in the back of her throat.

With her legs feeling as heavy as liquid metal she sat down, leaning against the tombstones, watching the morbid scenery ahead of her. There were birds chirping, flapping their wings in the distance and there was a black crow which landed next to her, making loud noises as it looked at her curiously, tilting its head back and forth at a frantic pace.

"Hi to you to, Mr. or Ms. Bird," Elena said, taking out her diary from inside of her jacket. The crow was strangely familiar to her, and it wasn't scared of her movements, which piqued Elena's curiosity, although it was extremely creepy, like she had landed in a Hitchcock movie. The fog seemed like it had thickened around her and it was unsettling. The crow chirped loudly only to increase her paranoia, which might not have been far-fetched since the news said that there had been three people killed in the past two weeks, although it was from animal attacks. She would prefer not becoming someone's or _something's _dinner. "Okay, this is getting a bit too freaky for my taste," Elena muttered, slowly standing up, squinting her eyes in hope of getting a better view, but the fog seemed to envelop around her like it was drawn to her. Elena moved around in a small circle, panic bubbling in her chest for no apparent reason. It just seemed too intense and she couldn't handle it.

Elena contemplated coming back here the day before school, when it wouldn't feel like a horror film, and picked up her diary before she slowly tried to decipher which way to go. She looked behind her, having a prickling feeling in her back like she was being watched before turning around, bumping into a solid form. She let out a loud gasp, her hands on instinct went out in front of her, which resulted in touching someone's chest.

"Usually I don't approve when strangers touch me, but for you I'm willing to make an exception," a velvety voice drawled amusingly and in an instant she knew who it was.

The man...Damon...

She jumped back, knitting her eyebrows together. "Why are you here?" she demanded when she was a few feet away from him. It couldn't be a coincidence that he was here. She just knew it and it was making her rigid. She definitely hadn't had the same vibe when she had first met him. He seemed surprised by her reaction and his jaw tightened. "I was thinking about throwing a party here, with the right decorations they might call it the party of the year."

Elena wasn't in the mood for this, so she rolled her eyes, walking past him, not caring that their shoulders touched, whilst she tried to ignore the tingling feeling it left behind.

She would be lying to herself if she wouldn't admit that she had thought of him several times during the days when it seemed she was at her lowest. It brightened her day thinking back to the moment of their talk and the kiss...but he was here now when she was visiting her parents and it had caught her off-guard.

"Does it work? Being here, drowning your sorrows?" he called out after her.

She whirled around in anger. "How dare you!"

"Relax Elena," he said quietly, his taunting grin firmly in place. He always pronounced her name with such delicacy; she always had a jolt which went through her spine every time he said it.

"Why are you here?" she asked again, hugging her chest, wishing the fog would lift but it stayed almost forming a circle around her and Damon.

"You really like repeating that question, don't you?" he retorted.

"Well, you are always around when I feel miserable," she stated with an arched eyebrow, watching as his shoulders tensed.

"I have a knack for being the hero that shows up on time for the right person. I just need to fix my hair so it has a nice hero hairdo to go with it," he teased with his eyebrows raised, but his smile faltered when he saw the book she was holding and his eyes fixated on her face. "Why are you alone here?"

"It's the only time I can be alone. My friends and my Aunt care, they care so much, it makes everything so much harder. It hurts. I try my best to be okay all the time around them so they don't worry..." she trailed off, exhaling a long held breath. "And that makes them worry even more," Damon finished. She looked at him, and saw understanding pass across his face, making her relax.

"I can be myself here. I can tell the world exactly what I feel and think and no one judges me. It must sound really stupid to you," she said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, feeling her cheeks getting warmer by the second.

"Who cares what anyone else thinks? If it is what helps you get through your grief, they can all suck it." Elena chuckled at his remark, her body started to release the tense knots as she started to feel comfortable around him once again.

Damon looked around before fishing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and stepped closer to her. "You know, I really shouldn't be here, and I shouldn't have been at that party, but something about you made me curious," he said, his gaze fixated on her. His eyes were blank and yet somehow intense at the same time like he had forgotten who she was and what she looked like. She opened her mouth to ask what he meant. Had they met before this? What was it that made him so curious about her? But no words came out so she resigned to looking at him with perplexed eyes.

"Same face-" he took another step, his hand stretching out to caress her cheek. She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding as his finger stroked her cheek, "-same skin-" He was close to her again, staring at her, "-same hair." He lightly moved his finger through a stray tress of her hair. "Though your eyes are different," he finished, his finger making its way back to her cheek. The one corner of his mouth curling upwards into a sad smile, "Warm and gentle."

Elena swallowed thickly as he continued to torture her skin with feather like touches. "What are you talking about?" she whispered, not wanting to disrupt the magic feeling.

Damon let out a short husky chuckle, leaning close to her. "You remind me of someone that I knew many years ago."

"I wonder if that's my cue to leave," Elena half joked, seeing how his eyes sparkled mentioning this other person. She definitely didn't want to be someone's rebound no matter how hot this said someone was, or how easy it was to talk to him, and how easily he understood her.

"Do you have someplace better to be?"

"Not really." She chastised herself for revealing that fact.

"Your heart is pounding so quickly," Damon muttered, he looked like he was pondering a great mystery, tracing his fingers along her collarbone.

Elena's breath hitched in her throat, feeling slightly...caught as her body was deceiving her act trying to remain indifferent.

"All that blood, pumping in your veins. It's like music." His eyes caught hers like a hawk as he bent down close to her lips, that felt very dry, and on instinct she licked them.

These comments about her heart and blood really should have freaked her out and made her leave, but it was like she was paralyzed to the ground under his presence. But it didn't stop her curious nature, "Then you need to listen to better music."

He laughed then, and it warmed the knot in her belly hearing him. "Most girls, sensible ones would be on their merry little way if they heard someone say that about them."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No. Strangely enough, I like your company."

"I'm honoured," Elena added sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I'm usually not one for being with crowds and listening to someone spill their heart out." He dwelled on what he had said for a moment for effect, and mused, "I like being the one to rip them out."

Elena gave him a bored look, not taking him seriously. She did have warning bells going off in her head like heavy clock work, and the nervous tickling sensation in the back of her neck, but she firmly believed he wouldn't hurt her. She probably was too naive for her own good.

"Why do I get the feeling that you have some serious trust issues," Elena pointed out, and his gaze drifted away from her eyes.

"What gave you that idea?"

"The fact that you still don't want to tell me what you are doing here, and that you try to scare me off when I ask you questions that you apparently don't want to answer," she stated.

His eyes darkened when he looked back at her smug face and in one beat of her heart he was in front of her, cupping her face, tilting her chin upwards, and she let out a surprised gasp when he did. His eyes penetrated hers, and they seemed to boreinto her very soul.

"Believe me; you don't want to ask questions that you don't want to hear the answers for." She gulped at the intensity of his voice, the low rumble that shot tingles through her body, barely registering how cold his hands were against her hot cheeks.

Elena opened her mouth, managing a whimper, "Why?"

"Because you are not ready for it." Damon smiled, stroking her cheek with his thumb, making her hold her breath, as the hairs on the nape of her neck stood up from his touch.

He had that look he had had the same time when he had left her the first time, and fear sprung up on her, she was afraid he would do it again.

"Don't go," she whispered. He looked stunned by her words, letting out a quiet chuckle, his breath mingling with hers in the thick atmosphere.

"I don't want to be left alone right now. Somehow you make it easier, forgetting everything," she confessed, feeling her cheeks redden by the minute. It wasn't the entire truth, but he didn't really know how she felt around him. It freaked her out because she had only met him once before.

"I'm dangerous, Elena." He warned with hooded eyes, his hold on her cheeks tightening slightly.

"You haven't hurt me or tried to," she argued heatedly, not understanding why he had to scare her off every time they met.

"Yet," he deadpanned with a dark glint in his eyes. Her heart sped up quickly, and thundered hard against her ribcage. Elena wasn't stupid. She didn't know this guy, and he did have this attitude that suggested he was capable of doing anything to anyone, but it didn't stop the feelings that went through her that made her feel warm tingling sensations in her body, and she trusted her instincts to know that he wouldn't hurt her. She was a moth drawn to the tantalizing flame.

"Damon..." she started, her voice wavering by his close proximity. It was drugging her nerves, and she felt herself being pulled in.

She repeated his name softly, and he jerked his stare upwards, to her, at her, and with a very tentative, slightly shaking hand, she reached out to touch him on the cheek like it was the most normal thing in the world. She let out a breath once she touched his skin; he had a light bit of stubble on his cheeks that prickled her fingertips. He was just staring at her, wondering what her next move would be and she leaned closer, and could feel his warm breath tickling the tip of her nose. Elena decided to go for it; wanting desperately to feel what she had felt last time when she had kissed him. It made the whole world disappear in a flash and the pain was easier to handle, replacing it with a fire that corrupted her entire being, focusing only on him, his scent and the way he felt.

He was the one pulling her closer, effectively closing the distance between the two of them, as she immediately threw her arms around his neck as he slammed his lips against hers, spurred by the little moan that escaped Elena's throat, as her stomach somersaulted the second his lips were on hers. She didn't do this normally, she did not go around and kiss guys she barely knew, but you could not explain what went on here. She felt like one of those girls in a romantic novel that immediately falls for their Prince Charming but that's all it was supposed to be. A novel of fiction.

She was dangerously attracted to this man, who seemed to bring the more dormant part out of her. The part that dared to take risks, the part that was fierce and passionate about everything, the part that loved life and relished in it. Everything just suddenly clicked.

Their lips caressed each other's like a dance. He was teasing her, nibbling on her lower lip, caressing her back with his strong hands. She was completely pressed against him, feeling his hard chest against hers, and her heart pounded so hard, she swore that he could feel it as well.

She opened her mouth, letting him in swiftly and with precise accuracy combined her tongue with his. The knot below her navel throbbed and shot warm, static sparks up her spine and to her head. Elena felt like her nerves had exploded, and everything was much clearer now. She had this sensation that she belonged here, with him. It was crazy because she didn't know him. She had no idea how long they stood there, lost in time and space as their kiss became more passionate, dominant and feral. But she did know the second they broke apart so she could breathe, (and quiver the ache building up in her body) the sky had darkened and the fog had increased and she saw nothing besides Damon in the flickering light from the lamppost that lit up the night.

"Wow..." she said with a shy smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She had never experienced anything like this before. Breath-taking, consuming and she felt her core that had been numb brought back to life.

Damon was looking at her with an unreadable stare while she herself felt hazy, like she was coming off the best painkillers in the world. Her limbs and veins were buzzing and she let herself grin at him, wondering if he would maybe like to hang out with her more, but not in a cemetery. She had a feeling that if she let him in her life, he would change it completely, challenge her values and change her standards of guys forever and the cautious part of her screamed at her that she wasn't ready for that. But this little trail of thought was abruptly interrupted as Damon eyed her, his pupils dilated with a slightly remorseful furrowing of his eyebrows, if she saw it right and it made her confused.

"You even taste different." He said, looking like he just swallowed a bug.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, not wanting to think about his comment at this precise moment.

He crinkled his nose, and it looked like he was fighting a battle inside his head. But like a switch he was remarking her with a snide twist of his mouth and right then and there Elena felt her heart squeeze tight and not with wanton, but with inevitable hurt.

"I'm a killer, Elena. You can't imagine what I could do to you, or how easily I could snap your neck."

"_Wait, what?!"_ Elena tried to grasp what he just said but her mind was still a little bit high in the clouds. She wondered if he was joking but one look at him, and it was like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her. He was being dead serious, and the warning bells that she had suppressed in her mind were now ringing through her eardrums.

No words were needed. All the fears and dread that she had felt in the few seconds before she went unconscious in the car accident returned to her immediately. Her instincts had screwed her over and she had to get out of here.

But Damon's grip on her had increased and one of his hands gripped her around the waist, pulling her easily to his chest, a smirk dancing mockingly across his lips. "Are you finally taking me seriously now?"

Her eyes widened in horror as she saw veins appear under his eyes like tiny electric pulses as his pupils became dark. She tried squirming out of his grasp but he held her as easily as he would a fly.

"What are you?" she asked, her voice trembling with a hint of betrayal lacing her vocal chords. She was so stupid for ever believing and trusting him.

"I told you. I'm a vampire, not the Buffy kind. And no we don't glitter in the sunlight."

"You can't be-" she stuttered heavily, her heart pounding so loudly, she could hear it in her head, she felt her body being covered in cold sweat as goosebumps crawled everywhere.

"It's impossible!" she exclaimed as she saw Damon's stoic face gaze down at her, eyeing her up and down like a predator.

"_Vampires __aren't__ real. They __can't__ be real!__" _This was the thought that repeated through her mind as she silently screamed in her head, even with the evidence being straight in front of her. Her body was visibly shaking, and it felt as if her world had been turned upside down, and left her hanging in mid-air. She could not breathe properly, only taking shallow pants, still having the bravery to look Damon in the eyes who was mildly observing her with amusement, the veins around his now almost black eyes evidently pumping.

"You're afraid of me," he mused, titling his head to the side, "good." He flashed a quick smile at her, as he bared his teeth she saw two pointy objects appear. Fangs...they hadn't been there before. She would have noticed when they...

_"__Oh god, oh god, oh god,__"_Elena repeated over in her head like a broken record. This could not be happening! It was all too much, and it felt like the mist around them would swallow her whole if she didn't calm herself down.

"Please, let me go," she pleaded, frantically trying to see if there was any way she could get out of here.

"Funny, a moment ago you were practically _begging_ me to stay," he said smoothly like she wasn't about to have a heart-attack, looking down at her with his brows knitted together. "Just because I spilled the beans, doesn't mean I will do as you ask. It's not in my nature. It's much more fun to let things spiral out of control-" He waved his hand in front of her face to demonstrate his point, "-although that has always been my baby bro's thing, not mine." He looked like he was solving a great mystery before his devious smirk widened. "Mystic Falls is a great spot to blend in." It took her a few seconds to connect the dots, figments running through her memory as she recalled the latest news over the past two weeks. Puncture wounds...

"You're the one that killed those people, aren't you? There were no animal attacks." There had been reports on three animal attacks, which means..._Oh god!_ She cringed in her head, closing her eyes shut, wishing this was not true.

"And Elena Gilbert makes the home run!" he said sarcastically.

"How do you know my last name?"

"I know more about you than you think."

"You slaughtered innocent people," she yelled, momentarily forgetting she was the prey and he was the predator.

"Save those judge-y eyes for someone that has remorse."

"How can you act so indifferent?!" she continued to shout in disbelief.

"Because I don't care, because none of this matters. I'm a vampire not a bunny." He sounded so callous and cold.

"People are dead. How could it not matter?!"

"Very easily. You are food," he responded while shrugging like he was discussing the weather.

"Oh my god. I can't believe this is happening." She breathed heavily, and looked up at him, seeing him looking completely unperturbed by her reaction. He had changed from a mysterious handsome stranger to a creature of the undead, who was responsible for the deaths of several people without giving a second thought. How could she ever have felt so at ease around him? Pouring her soul out to him, and even kissing him?! God, she was such an idiot! Suddenly it felt like it was too much to handle, like she had been sucked into a vacuum, her body betraying her as she collapsed onto the damp grass.

"Oops, didn't mean to scare you," he said with a teasing tone, indicating he couldn't care less.

Underneath all the turmoil, there was a new force rushing through her. Anger...

"I bet you say that to all the girls before you kill them," she snapped.

"Ouch!" he said, clasping his palm over his chest like she had stabbed him. "That hurt my my-" breaking from his surprised stance to a mischievous grin, with his eyebrows raised, his hand falling to the side"-Oh wait. Never mind," he whispered the last part playfully.

He took another step around her, "You've got spunk. Phew" He wiggled his eyebrows, "I like that."

"You're a monster," she seethed furiously.

"Jeez, is it me, or is your heart not in this?" His voice vibrated through her spine, and he tilted his head when she remained quiet, "I'll it as a compliment," he replied.

"Killing you wouldn't serve my agenda, so you get to live. As I said, I was curious about you." He was walking in a circle around her.

Elena closed her eyes, trying to calm her erratic breathing but it was no use. She was on overdrive with no intention of calming down. Damon had stopped his pacing, and crouched down in front of her. "You need to leave," he said firmly, his eyes capturing hers again, and in the mixture of being trapped and terrified she still felt a warm surge going through her as she found herself staring into his dark pools. The veins had vanished revealing those blue marbles that you could stare at forever. It's amazing how she could for a second forget who and what he was and what he had done when he looked at her like that. He took her hands, easily dragging her up. "Your heart is beating so fast, it makes you the perfect snack so unless you want to end up as dinner, I suggest you leave now."

She got the message and mustered up all the courage and willpower she had left in her and started to run. The fog was lifting and she could see the pathway once again. She kept running as fast as her limbs would carry her, away from it all and away from him.


	3. Chapter 3

_An: A big thanks to my great beta, MrsBates93 that puts up with me! And thanks to those that that has reviewed, alerted and favorited. Hope you like this chapter!_

* * *

"Elena, are you even listening to me?" Caroline's high pitched voice that Elena could swear people would be able to hear half across town broke through her muddled mind. She didn't really know how she had gotten through four days to end up here at the Grill when all she could think about was _him_.

"I'm sorry, Caroline. I'm just..." Elena shook her head, eyeing her friend with an apologetic nod.

"Wow, that guy really has you hooked doesn't he?" Caroline said with awe. Elena snorted, regretting telling Bonnie or Caroline about Damon when she had first met him at the party. What could she say now about him? _"Oh yeah, turns out he is a vamp__ire__. Oh, they exist by the way, didn't you know?"_

"Caroline...I only met him once. I'm not thinking about him every minute of every day." So she lied. She had to lie. She didn't want to freak her out just yet. What would Damon do if he found out she had told her friends about him? Would he go ballistic or not have a care in the world...

She had been wondering, feeling it was her responsibility to tell people about vampires, to at least tell her friends, Jeremy and her aunt but she had a feeling they would want to send her away to a mental hospital if she did say anything. For now she would have to fight the urge to say anything about it. She was not a believer but she had seen the truth. So what was fiction and what was reality? Her curiosity had driven her to search 'vampire' on Google but she couldn't tell which facts were real and which weren't.

Elena felt betrayed, and hated herself for falling head over heels for a murderer. She blamed herself for telling him things she didn't dare tell her two closest friends. And now she was burdened with another secret. Who would believe her if she started running down the street screaming vampire? He had been...Elena closed her eyes, feeling her heart pumping faster when his face came into her mind. No matter how much he had scared her or hurt her he still had that effect on her. The two moments she had shared with him had made the world seem brighter again. It was like she had figured out why she wanted to live in it again. And it felt like it would drive her to the brink of insanity because whenever she was outside, he kept showing up and disappearing when she tried to get a closer look everywhere, so she could never forget about him as much as tried.

"Come on, Elena. You need to give me some juice," Caroline whined with an impatient tapping of her finger against the round table in the outdoor section of the Grill while Elena sipped her coffee. The wind rustled the trees, reflecting the light from the sun high above in the sky as a lot of people were walking about, enjoying their last days of vacation. School started again this Monday, it was Friday now and it filled her stomach with butterflies which had make her feel crazy.

She smiled at her friend, "There is nothing to talk about. We met, we kissed, he left and _I haven't-seen-him-since._" Okay, so she was a horrible liar when she hurried the last part out. Caroline raised an eyebrow at her, "Seriously? I watch enough Dr. Phil to know when you are lying Elena."

"There is nothing to say, Caroline."

"Did he hurt you or did you have mind-blowing _sex_ that left you so embarrassed? Squeal."

Elena sighed in frustration, staring scornfully at Caroline who retaliated with her own _oh-no-you-don't_ look. Her cheeks felt like someone was frying eggs on them and her heart was beating faster, wild images running through her head with...said...mind-blowing...sex images which she really didn't need or have spurring in her already 99.9 % Damon occupied brain.

Caroline smiled in triumph, seeing her friend turning red like a tomato. "So it is the latter."

"I did not sleep with him," Elena huffed as dignified as she could under the intense stare from her blonde friend.

"Well judging from your reaction then, it is very clear that you want to and don't deny it, Elena. Come on, just go for it! You like him, he likes you, and it doesn't really take rocket science to figure out where it goes from there."

"Wow, gee thanks Caroline," Elena uttered sarcastically.

"I don't mean it that way. I'm just saying, you did seem much happier after the party. You know, seize the moment. You need more happiness in your life since your parents died."

Sometimes Caroline's honesty and her blunt way of handling sensitive subjects was a bit too much for Elena and this was one of those moments. She abruptly stood up, almost knocking over the table as she did and Caroline realized her mistake. "God. I'm sorry. You know me. I talk faster than I think," she chuckled apologetically and Elena smiled reassuringly but couldn't stay there anymore. Placing her parents and Damon in the same sentence was just...

He plagued her in her dreams, and it felt like he was physically there, touching her, invading her senses with his spicy, masculine scent and caresses whispering her name and made her wake up with a sharp intake of breath. Her heart was thundering every time and it felt like she had just emerged from the water after drowning.

The more she tried not to think about him, to dig him out of her he somehow buried him deeper, with tons of new questions flooding her mind every minute.

If she hadn't met him then, or in a less magical moment, she wouldn't have kissed him. Knowing herself, she would have talked herself out of it because that's who she was. Cautious, second-guessing, and calm. Well at least that's who she had become but she had only been with Matt and it was a scary new territory.

Elena walked down the street, saying a very quick goodbye to a sorry and flushed Caroline, her arms hugging her chest as she hurried home. And then she stopped. She saw him, Damon standing with his hands clasped together, staring at her in a wicked manner and by the time she blinked he was gone. Her heart was pounding so fast, it felt like it would jump out of her chest. Seeing him made her body feel alive no matter how terrified she was of him. She hoped she would forget him, or not see him pop up everywhere before it drove her insane. And at the same time...she wanted to see him, touch him, kiss him because it was the only thing that made sense in her world, which made her feel so alive. She had to be going crazy. Maybe a mental hospital is where she needs to be.

Elena had no idea how she got home. She had no idea how she got to her room with all these thoughts in her head, but her legs were shaking and felt painful like she had been running. She guessed she had. She let out a frustrated cry and collapsed on her bed, wanting him out of her head, wanting him out of her heart which he had started to corrupt. She could practically feel black veins from thinking too much about Damon moulding, infesting around her beating heart and she cried herself to sleep.

When did she get so pathetic over a guy? Well, Damon wasn't any guy, and not even a guy really. But she had fallen for him hard and fast, just like Jack and Rose in Titanic. And she had wanted that for herself, that consuming, passionate, emotional and overwhelming desire to be with someone that made her feel like Rose. It was one of her deepest secrets, which no one knew because it would make her sound silly. She had gotten her wish but...it had become more of a horror show before she could delve deeper.

Some part of her was extremely grateful that he was truthful with her, and that he didn't want to keep secrets from her no matter how twisted it really was. He could have easily killed her and no one would have been the wiser. But he hadn't...

* * *

_Sunday,_

_I saw her again today. The more I see her, the more I want to know her_...

Stefan paused, chewing the tip of his pencil as he looked down at his journal.

_Every night I save her. I replay the scenarios over and over in my head, wishing that I was able to save her parents too so she wouldn't have to be so sad. She is captivating, and I know the risks, but it doesn't matter. I have to know her. Elena..._

Stefan closed his diary, walking with heavy steps and placed his book in the shelf among the other journals he's kept since he was turned. The school term starts tomorrow and he would finally introduce himself to her. To see what she's like. Whether she is anything like Katherine when he finally meets her, or if she could be this wonderful person that he has the impression she will be, ever since he's watched her after that car accident. She was sad and barely smiled but she carried herself in a way that was intriguing, and she was a good person, he could say that. Lately she seemed more scared and paranoid, and he wondered what could have happened and hoped if she liked him that he could ease her pain. He wished he could have done so all those months ago but he didn't dare to. But he came here to live a life, a normal one, hopefully with her included in it.

He yanked the curtains of his room aside, revealing a bright morning that flooded into his room, that held new promises and he finally felt happy to be home, seeing a new purpose in his life.

"Dear Diary, today I killed Bambi. The consequences of it will forever plague me, "a dark, half-amused voice echoed through his room, and Stefan whirled around to see the face of his tormenter for more than a century leaning against the doorframe, dressed in a leather jacket, t-shirt, black jeans with his arms folded across his chest and a smirk on his face. And just like that his happiness was eviscerated.

"Damon."

"Hello brother."

It was silent for a short while, and Stefan sighed, knowing he would never be free of his brother. Maybe it was too much to hope that he could start a new life. He had not seen him for fifteen years but it was never long enough for the Salvatore brothers.

"Why are you here?"

"Ouch, Stefan. No, 'I miss you' or 'how are you doing?' I thought we were closer than that." He made a tsking noise, uttering the last part with resentment. "You really need to learn how to prioritize your questions."

"When did you get here?" Stefan asked, seeing Damon's smirk widening as he walked across his brother's room, tracing the patterns on the wooden shelves with his fingers. "I've been here longer than you think, baby bro."

"And why are you here? You hate small towns," Stefan pointed out, since Damon had spent most of his time in major cities with little difficulty getting away with killing and compulsion.

"Well it's your first day of school tomorrow and I couldn't miss that. Being the older brother someone's gotta make sure it all goes to hell." Stefan snorted while Damon let out a sinister chuckle.

"You look different. Have you been changing your diet lately? You look less Marilyn Manson-" Damon said, with a smirk that seemed to be permanent, "-and more like Edward. Do you sparkle yet?" He mocked and took out the diary that Stefan had been writing in and started to look through the pages, his lips curling up. "At least you got the whipping part covered."

Stefan closed his eyes, trying not to get riled up which was what Damon always tried to do when they saw each other over the years.

"Elena...mm-mm-mm, what a name." Damon made a little yummy noise while goading his brother for a reaction. "I have been looking in your musty old filled-to-the-brim journals while you were out...brooding, saying sorry to the family of the squirrel you just killed or just hating your existence. And Elena-" Damon tapped his finger against the book, "seems to be your new found agony."

"It's been fifteen years, Damon. What do you want?" Stefan asked roughly, taken aback by the fact that Damon had roamed the house without him or Zach noticing.

"Thank God. The nineties look made me want to kill myself, well that is if I wasn't dead already." Damon let out a bitter bark of laughter while staring at his brother, slamming the journal shut.

"She is a dead ringer for Katherine, but I guess that has nothing to do with your little spying missions when you checked her out does it?" Damon continued with a sinful smile, making Stefan gulp, trying to remain indifferent, wondering how the hell his brother already knew about Elena or about him keeping an eye out for her just to see who she was with her looks.

"She is not Katherine." At least he could say that for certain. She seemed to be everything Katherine wasn't.

If it was possible Damon's smile grew wider and more mischievous, "And how would you know that?"

There was a taunting silence where Damon put the book back, and walked closer to Stefan. "Tell me; brother...does she make you feel alive? Does she make you try to live a normal human life? Isn't that why you want to go through this whole high school musical experience?" He ridiculed him and Stefan backed away which Damon countered with by walking closer; inhaling a deep breath for effect, "Imagine the taste of her blood."

"Stop it," Stefan growled, images flashing through his mind and the memory of how blood tasted tormenting him. He fought every day to keep it under control. And the thought of Elena's blood was a thousand things he could not describe.

"I can," Damon smirked ignoring Stefan's plea, his eyes sparkling with the intention of hurting him.

"STOP!" Stefan shouted, feeling the veins under his eyes fighting to appear and the urge to feed off of something alive, beating and significantly more pleasing than mere animals was calling to him.

They stared at each other, and Stefan broke the silence. "Stay away from Elena," he warned, knowing that the elder Salvatore was either up to no good or just here to torment him. But he could not let him hurt Elena, even if he didn't know her, he felt responsible for her safety.

"You want it Stefan. Remember denial is the key to an eternity of misery," Damon lectured maliciously. "And I can't have that since that is my job. I can't have you feeling happy, thinking you can live life the way you want to. And that's the thing that pisses me off the most-" Damon whirled around, biting the corner on the inside of his cheek, his brows furrowed together, "-you are dead. Get over it and embrace it already."

Stefan looked to the side, letting out a low snort, "Is my happiness too much for you to handle?"

"Well if you call stalking happy I think you need to redefine your idea of fun," Damon said in a bored tone.

"Why are you here, Damon?" Stefan asked again, ignoring Damon's jibes.

"I've been keeping myself busy," was his brother's evasive answer.

Stefan shook his head, wanting his brother out of his life; feeling like his heart would just plummet to the ground if Damon was going to stay and make him miserable or try to hurt Elena.

"You know, she smells divine." Damon let out a dark chuckle. "Well, maybe you don't."

That piqued Stefan's attention, "What are you saying?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Damon asked with mocked surprise, while making a line through the dust on the bookcase with his finger. "She is so _perky-"_he smiled devilishly, staring at Stefan, "-and she certainly isn't a bad kisser." All coherent thoughts went out of Stefan's head and all he wanted to do at that moment was lunge at Damon, but he saw it coming and they both blurred in opposite directions, and he smirked.

"What, Stefan? Does it hurt?" Damon taunted, his voice filled with glee.

"Is this what it's all about? To get back at me because of Katherine? It was 145 years ago Damon."

It had to be a lie. He knew that Damon could be charming and he could compel people but Elena seemed much smarter and very cautious and he just couldn't see her being lured in by Damon. He hoped his brother was lying.

"Wow, you are very self-centred." Damon leaned against the mahogany desk in the middle of the room, looking at Stefan in a self-satisfied way.

"What do you mean? You kissed her?"

"I think that's what they call it when two pairs of lips meet each other and-" Damon pouts, and did a kissing imitation, upsetting Stefan. He had no right, with Elena not being his, but knowing that his brother was there and that he would only harm her as he still loved Katherine was Damon's bitter way of revenge for all those years ago.

"She gets me. Her kisses take me on puffy clouds up into the sky-" Damon said with a sarcastic voice, before he burst out into a fit of laughter, "-sorry there's no way I could say that with a straight face."

Stefan clenched his fists, "You will not hurt her." He already cared for Elena, feeling like he almost knew her for the past four months after the accident. He wanted the best for her, and Damon was the worst thing that could happen to her. He hoped deep down somewhere that there was something human, something normal in his brother, but he didn't want him to rediscover it here. And he knew Damon hated him because their father always favoured Stefan over him and then Katherine had done the exact same thing.

Damon despised him because of Katherine and her choices, and wanted to torment him because he still loved her underneath all the bitterness and resentment. His brother was a great actor, and he would be fooling himself if he wanted to believe the look in Damon's eyes was remorseful when he talked about Elena.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Do you want to put that on twitter so the whole world knows?"

"Damon..." Stefan snarled but Damon let out a sinister laugh. "Relax; brother...I'm having way too much fun to not kill her. Well for now at least."

"You're lying. I would have seen-"

"And there is your eternal struggle to not accept your nature. I know where and what you are. Whereas _you_, can't even hear me sneak into your room."

Stefan growled, and his knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists tightly, afraid for Elena's sake that she would get hurt and something resembling jealousy which he knew he shouldn't feel at all for a woman who didn't know of his existence.

"You look peeved," Damon commented and snapped his fingers like he had just figured out a puzzle. "Maybe you should crank up your diet. The people in Mystic Falls do have a certain taste to them if you know what I mean." Stefan wasn't stupid and understood what his brother meant and it made him angry and yet sad at the same time. There had to be a shred of humanity left in him.

"Those people on the news who died, you killed them," Stefan stated solemnly, he had been wondering if he should be worried about another vampire in town when he saw and heard about the repeated attacks on the evening news, making Damon chuckle.

"At least your diet didn't rot away _all _your brain cells."

"Please Damon. Not here, not in this town. After all this time, please, can we just give it a rest?" Stefan pleaded, knowing he was no match against him and tried to appeal to the more human side of his brother that he knew was still in there somewhere. He hoped it was.

"But it's so much _fun!_" Damon stated sarcastically with a smirk.

"People die around you; I can't allow that to happen again."

"Obviously," Damon stated with a frown, like Stefan was crazy to assume otherwise. "And you better chalk up on the squirrels then brother. You are no match for me like this. You gave that fight up when you stopped feeding on people. And oh by the way-" Damon licked his lips, like he was savouring the greatest stake in the world, "-Elena does taste absolutely _delicious_." And with that Damon waltzed out of the room, whistling as he did, leaving Stefan behind wondering how he could get rid of his brother, and protect the people of Mystic Falls, and more importantly protect Elena from him.

* * *

_AN: Still feel like this is worth continuing? Leave a review for the muse!_


End file.
